Blini

Serves 4

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

"There are oh so many recipes of the traditional Russian Blini, and every family has its own. This one comes from my Grandma who would make hundreds of blini so that she could feed her family during the long Siberian winter."

Recipe by: Larissa Merz

Ingredients

Method

Whisk together egg, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add flour to the mixture, and stir in along with the milk and soda. Mix all ingredients until smooth, then start adding warm water to make the batter almost liquid.

Heat a (thick) frying pan to high heat. Lightly oil the pan. Use a ladle (about 2-3 tablespoons) to pour the batter into the pan. Tilt the pan to spread the batter out evenly. When the edges are crisp and the centre appears dry, slide a spatula carefully under the blin, flip it and cook on the other side until lightly browned.

Remove blini to a plate. Put little butter on top of each blin, and continue to stack the blini on top of each other. To serve, spread with desired filling, then fold in half (or may just roll them as spring rolls)

Best enjoyed with: sour cream or you can just dip each blin into the melted butter. You may also want to try the blini with your tea and coffee - with jam, honey, syrup or marmalade.